WASHINGTON (BP) -- A doctor association's new "engaged neutrality" on physician-assisted suicide is a misnomer and threatening to people with Alzheimer's disease, a Southern Baptist ethicist and a specialist on elder care say.

Delegates to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) voted Oct. 9 to embrace a stance of "engaged neutrality" regarding assisted suicide. The new resolution puts the AAFP at odds with the American Medical Association (AMA), which opposes physician-assisted suicide in its Code of Medical Ethics. Read More

Then 4 years old, McGinnis had been attending a family reunion in Tennessee with his mother and two older brothers while his father Dan, pastor of Double Springs Baptist Church in Waynesburg, Ky., carried out his normal weekend duties at the church. But Dan McGinnis never arrived at church that Sunday morning. Members found him dead in the parsonage -- a victim of suicide. Evidence suggested ministerial stress and undiagnosed mental illness may have been contributing factors.

Confused and angry, McGinnis told himself as a child, "I won't be a pastor because I don't want to end up like my dad." But 23 years later, McGinnis has answered God's call to ministry and is in his third year as pastor of Hustonville (Ky.) Baptist Church. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Mental health struggles and thoughts of suicide may be more common than church leaders realize -- even among some of the youngest members of a congregation.

Around 1 in 3 high school students (31.5 percent) say they've experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- A county judge invalidated California's physician-assisted suicide law Tuesday (May 15) but did not rule the lethal practice unconstitutional.

Daniel Ottolia, a Superior Court judge in Riverside County, struck down the state's End of Life Option Act, saying legislators defied California law by passing the measure during a special session called to address health care issues, supporters and opponents of the 2015 law said, according to the Los Angeles Times. Ottolia provided state Attorney General Xavier Becerra with five days to appeal the ruling and keep the law in effect. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Suicide remains a taboo subject in many Protestant churches, despite the best efforts of pastors, according to a new study.

Eight in 10 Protestant senior pastors believe their church is equipped to intervene with someone who is threatening suicide, according to a study released Sept. 29 from LifeWay Research. Yet few people turn to the church for help before taking their own lives, according to their churchgoing friends and family.

Only 4 percent of churchgoers who have lost a close friend or family member to suicide say church leaders were aware of their loved one's struggles. Read More

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The continuation of legalized, physician-assisted suicide in the country's capital awaits the determination of the U.S. Senate.

The House of Representatives nullified the District of Columbia's Death With Dignity Act as part of an immense spending bill it approved Sept. 14. Representatives included a block on the 2016 D.C. measure as an amendment to legislation they passed 211-198.

Opponents and supporters of assisted suicide are waiting to see if the Senate will include the amendment revoking the D.C. law when it acts on the same spending proposal. The final version of the legislation will still need the signature of President Trump. Read More

NORTHEAST NIGERIA (BP) -- Boko Haram's abuse of children as suicide bombers is at an all-time high in the Lake Chad region including northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries, UNICEF said Aug. 22.

The jihadists have murdered at least 83 children since January by strapping them with bombs before sending them into public gathering places and detonating the explosives, UNICEF said in its press release.

About 55 of the victims were girls under the age of 15, as girls often become ... Read More

TORONTO (BP) -- A report on physician-assisted suicide in Canada appears to support claims by opponents of the practice that it is driven by a desire for personal autonomy rather than pain management.

A study published May 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found 95 percent of patients to receive medical aid in dying (MAiD) through Toronto's University Health Network between March 2016 and March 2017 cited "loss of autonomy" as a reason for the request to end their lives. No other reason was cited as frequently. The article's seven coauthors wrote that "few patients cited ... Read More

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (M-F) international news wire service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with four partnering bureaus (Richmond, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C.), as well as with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers, to produce BP News.